AC Milan, without a doubt, is one of the biggest clubs in football history. The Rossoneri reigned over global football for decades and definitely dominated the football space from the 1990s to the late 2000s.
In reality, they’re the second most fancied team in history, with seven European Cup/UEFA Champions League wins.
Despite not winning anything really significant prior to the 2021/2022 season, they still maintain that position of the second best as they’re behind only Real Madrid on European titles, which shows the amount of success they acquired in the past, despite a decade-long drought.
How Milan broke into European limelight
After the foundation and early years of Milan and their international affirmation, Silvio Berlusconi’s takeover on 20th February 1986, saved the club from Bankruptcy after he invested heavily in appointing Arrigo Sachi as the head coach. Sacchi’s era saw the likes of Marco Van Basten, Ruud Gullit, and Frank Rijkaard dominate the stage. Sachi’s Milan won its first Scudetto title in 9 years in the 1987-88 season, one season after Berlusconi’s takeover of the club.
The following year, the club won its first European Cup in two decades, and also retained it in 1990. After Sacchi left Milan in 1991, he was replaced by the club’s former player Fabio Capello whose team won three consecutive Serie A titles between 1992 and 1994, a spell which included a 58-match unbeaten run in Serie A and also got back-to-back UEFA Champions League final appearances in 1993, 1994 and 1995.
A year after losing 1–0 to Marseille in the 1993 Champions League final, Capello’s team reached its peak in one of Milan’s most memorable matches of all time, the famous 4–0 win over Barcelona in the 1994 Champions League final. Capello’s side went on to win the 1995–96 league title before he left to manage Real Madrid in 1996. In 1998–99, after a two-year period of decline.
Former Player, Carlos Ancelotti who took charge of the side also led them to three Champions League finals in 2003, 2005, & 2007.
The long slope from the top
The Milan team that boasted of players like Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Robinson, and Alexandre Pato won Milan’s last Serie A title Prior to Last season, which saw them go over 10 years without the league title, winning just the Supercoppa Italiana in 2016.
Berlusconi’s reign ended having sold the club to a Chinese investment company, Sino-Europe Sports Investment Management Changxing Co, to which Fininvest sold a 99.93% stake in Milan for about €520 million, plus the refurbishment of the club’s financial debt of €220 million.
Enroute being the billion dollar club
On 13 April 2017, the deal was completed and Rossoneri Sport Investment Lux became the new direct parent company of the club. In order to finalize the deal, American hedge fund Elliott Management Corporation provided Li with a loan of €303 million (€180 million to complete the payment to Fininvest and €123 million issued directly to the club).
On 10 July 2018, Li failed to keep up with his loan repayment plan, neglecting to deposit a €32 million installment on time in order to refinance the €303 million loan debt owed to the American hedge fund. As a result, In July 2018, chairman Li Yonghong’s investment vehicle Rossoneri Champion Inv. Lux. was removed as the shareholder of Rossoneri Sport Inv. Lux, the direct parent company of the club, making the investment vehicle majority controlled by Elliott Management Corporation the sole shareholder of Rossoneri Sport Inv. Lux.
Welcome to the billionaire’s world
On 31st August 2022, RedBird Capital Partners completed the deal to purchase a controlling interest in the seven-time European champion for 1.2 billion euros ($1.2 billion).
Gerry Cardinale, RedBird founder after purchase in a statement on Milan’s site said
“Our vision for Milan is clear: we will support our talented players, coaches, and staff to deliver success on the pitch and allow our fans to share in the extraordinary experiences of this historic club,” Cardinale said.
AC Milan has found their way to the top once again, and dominating Europe may not be out of its reach in the nearest future.